Page 65 of Galadon
“How long did she stay with you?” Rayna asked, leaning forward in interest.
“Until the winter I turned twelve.”
Surprise lit her gaze. “Wow, that’s a long time—almost four years.”
“It was, but we had grown close. Whenever I grew homesick, missed my parents, or just felt lonely, she was there to comfort me. Amari would hold me and dry my tears, telling me it would be okay in that soothing voice of hers. She even recited every story she knew from her childhood.” My chest tightened at the memories I tried so hard not to recall anymore. “She was everything I needed then.”
Rayna’s gaze turned fearful. “What happened? You mentioned before that a slayer betrayed you.”
“Yes, it was her. Up until I was twelve, enough dragons came around to keep her sated. It had become a challenge to try taking my land. She killed every one of them, though I helped often for practice. She taught me how to fight viciously, and I gladly absorbed all her knowledge. We even practiced my storm magic, using a sorcerer friend of hers as a guide, so I could use my abilities to scare intruders away. He was also the one who taught me how to build strong wards. I can’t say if I’d have everfigured out how to harness my powers without her facilitating it.”
I stopped pacing a moment and ran a hand over my short hair, preparing for the worst memory of all. It was the one that still gave me nightmares occasionally and kept me from committing fully to Rayna.
“But the winter I turned twelve was a rare harsh one, with snow falling so much that I could barely walk through it in human form. As a dragon, I couldn’t leave my den at all. The winds were bitter and cold, so pretty much all my kind went into hibernation to wait it out. There was no one for Amari to slay.”
Rayna covered her mouth. “You mean she…”
“Attacked me?” I asked, tone bitter. “Yes, after she waited as long as possible. It was while I lay asleep. She grabbed me and threw me into the wall. I think she held back at first, or else I might have never awoken before she killed me, but once her instincts fully took over, she couldn’t restrain herself. I recognized the madness in her eyes and knew there would be no reasoning with her. She’d warned me in the previous days it could happen. We fought for several minutes, with her breaking my leg, several ribs, and stabbing me a few times before I managed to shove a blade into her heart.”
Rayna looked away, her throat muscles working. “And that is what I’ve been working against.”
Her tone was low yet miserable. I wished I hadn’t had to tell her the story, but she’d never understand me if she didn’t hear it. Every move and choice I’d made regarding Rayna had been affected because of Amari. She deserved to know the truth.
“Yes,” I agreed, sighing. “It was why I was especially cruel with you from the beginning because I recognized I coulddevelop deep feelings for you, and I never wanted to face that level of betrayal again. Bailey was easier to accept because she was already mated to Aidan. You, on the other hand, called to me from the beginning. I felt it in my soul. It was my way of protecting myself to push you away whenever we were near each other. No matter that I wanted you.”
Rayna’s hair fell in a waterfall where she held her head low, so I couldn’t see her face. “I can’t even blame you for it anymore. In your shoes, I would be the same way.”
There were tears in her voice, and it killed me that my story hurt her.
“I know you’re not Amari. You’ve proven yourself, which is why you’re here now, but forgetting such a deep betrayal is difficult for me. I want to give you my full trust. It’s just not…” I didn’t know how to explain it.
“Not easy,” she finished.
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s not. The logical part of me understands you’re not a threat, but centuries of trying to survive on my own and facing other slayers who haven’t hesitated to attack me is not easy to undo.”
Rayna wiped at her face and stood. “How can I help?”
“I have no idea, not when you’ve already done too much,” I said, wishing I had a better answer. She’d nearly killed herself to prove she’d never harm me.
The slayer took a deep breath, and then she began unlacing her top. I watched in confusion but said nothing as she removed it, revealing full, pert breasts that I could never get tired of admiring. Next, she removed her boots and pants, tossing her weapons into the pile far from her.
Finally, she was fully naked. She lay back on the stone and opened her legs so I could see every part of her in the glowing light of the sun. “I’m at your mercy, Galadon. Maybe you can’t fully trust me, but I trust you with my heart, body, and soul.”
I shuddered at her submission.
For Zorya’s sake, this woman knew how to shake me to my core. She was taking that ancient, ugly memory and giving me a newer one. It was up to me what I did with that. I sent my clothing to shiggara and stalked toward her, where she lay bare and totally vulnerable. A thousand possibilities lay there. I searched through them all, having a vivid imagination after spending much of my life alone, but there was one thing I recalled overhearing about once from a couple of shifters. It was a way to test her.
I moved to hover over her. “Open your thighs wider.”
She did as I ordered, moving them a few inches more, gaze turning curious even as she blushed. Perhaps this was also new territory for her, submitting to a male in such a way. I liked the idea of taking her out of her comfort zone.
“More,” I said, taking a step closer until my boots touched the stone. “I want your most intimate parts completely open and vulnerable to me.”
She dug her fingernails into the stone but spread her thighs as far as they could go. Her inner folds glistened from her desire. I kneeled and ran my finger through the wetness and then tasted it. It was like the sweetest nectar. I desperately wanted to lick her clean, but first, I planned to try something else.
“You trust me?” I asked.
“Yes.” Her voice came out faint.
